Due to recent directives from the Department of Defense, there is great pressure to develop the technology behind unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). UAVs are remotely piloted or autonomous aircraft that can carry cameras, sensors, communications equipment, or other payloads.
UAVs have proven their usefulness in military applications in recent years. Large UAVs have become an integral part of the U.S. arsenal. Large UAVs have executed surveillance and tactical missions in virtually every part of the world. For example, unmanned aircraft systems (“UAS”) have become an essential tool for warfighters. While high-altitude, long-endurance UAS like the Predator and the Global Hawk provide persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (“ISR”) capabilities, they are a scarce resource that cannot be given specific data-gathering tasks by individual troops. At the other end of the spectrum are backpackable small and micro air vehicles (“MAVs”), with wingspans less than 48 inches, which theoretically can be carried by every warfighter.
One drawback of MAVs is the recovery of the MAV after it has completed its mission. Although the relatively low cost of MAVs may suggest that they may be expendable (and thereby removing the need for recovery), MAVs still contain critical and often classified technology that needs to be kept out of enemy hands. Thus, innovative recovery techniques are critical to ubiquitous use of MAV technology.